Mumbai triple murder case: Ex-bar employee held

Mumbai: The city police on Sunday claimed to have cracked the triple murder case at a suburban bar with the arrest of a former employee.

The motive behind the murder of the three persons, all employees of Natraj Bar in suburban Vidyavihar, is personal enmity, police said.

The accused, Pravin alias Sonu, was arrested early this morning, police said, adding they are also probing if more persons were involved in the crime.

The deceased identified as Basant Madoria (30), Raja Dakolia (33) and Bhaskar Dalvi (54) were stabbed around 10-15 times and their bodies were found lying in a pool of blood by a sweeper on the premises of the bar last morning.

While Madoria and Dakolia were working as waiters at Natraj Bar, Dalvi was there as the watchman.

According to police, Pravin used to work at the same bar.

"During initial questioning, the accused said that the deceased used to constantly pick fights with him and verbally abuse him. Infuriated by this, Pravin came to the bar on the night of January 04 and consumed liquor there. Before leaving, he fought with the deceased and stabbed them to death," police said.

While Madoria and Dakolia were working in the bar since five years, Dalvi was employed there for the past 12 years.

Police zeroed in on Pravin after recording the statements of over 20 employees of the bar including female singers and waiters.

Police said Madoria and Dakolia used to work late hours in the bar and often sleep in the garage for few hours to take the first train to go to their destinations.

The bar was closed at around 2:30 am yesterday by its staff after carrying out regular cleaning work of the premises and furniture.

"CCTV cameras were also switched off before closing the bar as per the routine," police said.

Police suspect that the murders might have taken place somewhere between 2:30 am and 5 am.